Not only is the U. of I. a place that attracts great leaders, it also is a place where great leaders are developed and made.
Many of the university’s current leaders started on the Urbana-Champaign campus and have worked their way into leadership roles here – and at other universities (see chart below).
The university continues to offer a variety of programs to identify and train new leaders.
The following is a list of some of the leadership and professional development programs the university offers annually through the offices of the Provost, Chancellor and Diversity, Equity and Access.
- Academic Leadership Seminar series is a yearlong program for academic unit leaders including department heads and chairs, program and center directors, and assistant and associate deans. It consists of two separate series of seminars, one for new executive officers and one for all executive officers.
- Leadership Series for New Deans is designed for deans who are new to their positions. It consists of a yearlong set of monthly sessions around pertinent topics, during which new deans can engage in conversation about challenges and issues they are facing and learn more about resources available on campus. For each session, key campus leaders are invited to share best practices and experiences. Some of the leaders are veteran deans who have faced similar challenges in creative ways, and others are experts at the university who can be helpful.
- Senior Leadership Retreat is an annual two-day orientation for new deans, directors, department heads and unit leaders. It provides a forum for discussion of campus strategic goals, policies and procedures. It focuses on the responsibilities of leaders within the university and the resources available to support them in fulfilling those responsibilities. The program addresses issues of value to newer leaders through presentations by key campus leaders and experienced administrators, case studies and group interactions. The retreat also provides additional opportunities for the new leaders to interact with university leaders.
- Emerging Women Leaders Forum provides leadership development for midlevel professional women at Illinois who have been identified by their deans, directors and department heads, and who aspire to become organizational leaders. The focus of this program is to equip women with fundamental leadership strategies and practical experience for positive impact within their departments and communities. Workshops are designed to help women identify and reinforce their strengths while developing proactive strategies for greater impact.
- Executive Women’s Conversation Group is a group of faculty members and academic professional women in senior leadership roles who meet monthly during the school year to network and discuss matters of interest to the group. Topics include important campus issues and initiatives, leadership, mentoring and community engagement. This group also supports the Emerging Women Leaders Group.
- Provost Fellows Program provides academic leadership experience in key campus administrative roles for distinguished faculty members on this campus. It is designed to develop leadership skills at the campus level for some of the campus’s most accomplished tenured faculty. Fellows participate in a range of mentoring and learning opportunities, collaborate with colleagues in the Provost’s and Chancellor’s offices and in other academic and administrative offices across campus, and assume leadership roles on critical campus strategic initiatives and projects, designed in conjunction with fellows’ individual interests and longer-range career goals. The goal of the program is to provide exceptional faculty members with a more expansive range of leadership experiences at the campus level. As part of this experience, fellows participate in a range of learning opportunities, including serving as a member of the Provost’s Cabinet. In addition, each fellow works with a primary mentor in the Office of the Provost.
- Illinois Campus Awards for Excellence in Faculty Leadership are awarded for outstanding leadership that enriches the intellectual vitality of the campus and the broader community. In recognition of those who distinguish themselves with their vision of the future and their ability to mobilize others in shaping that future, the annual awards are given for excellence in faculty leadership. Awards are given for executive officer leadership, outstanding leadership, excellence in faculty mentoring and outstanding leadership in shared governance.
Illinois: An incubator for leaders in higher education
FORMER U. OF I. FACULTY MEMBERS/DEPARTMENT HEADS NOW LEADING AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS
Name (Position, Institution)
- David Munson (dean, Engineering at University of Michigan)
- Ian Robertson (dean, Engineering at University of Wisconsin)
- Mike Bragg (dean, Engineering at University of Washington)
- Amr Elnashai (dean, Engineering at Penn State University)
- Kent Fuchs (president of University of Florida)
- David Ikenberry (dean, Business at University of Colorado)
- Ira Solomon (dean, Businessat Tulane University)
- Charles Zukoski (provost, executive vice president at SUNY at Buffalo)
- Ruth Watkins (provost/senior VPAA at University of Utah)
- Debasish Dutta (provost at Purdue University)
- Sarah Mangelsdorf (provost at University of Wisconsin)
- Thomas Mengler (president at St. Mary’s University)
- Philip McConnaughay (dean, translational law at Peking University)
- David Meyer (dean, Law at Tulane University)
- Amy Wildermuth (associate vice president for faculty at University of Utah)
- Andrew Morriss (dean, Law at Texas A&M University)
- Daniel Hamilton (dean, Law at University of Nevada at LV)
- David Daniel (president of University of Texas at Dallas)
- John Unsworth (vice provost/CIO at Brandeis University)
- Harris Lewin (vice chancellor for research at University of California at Davis)
- Linda Katehi (chancellor of University of California at Davis)
- Dianne Harris (dean, Humanities at University of Utah)
- Warwick Arden (provost, executive vice chancellor North Carolina State University)
- Joseph DiPietro (president of University of Tennessee)
- Tony Liss (dean, Science of City College of New York)
- Benjamin Wah (provost of Chinese University of Hong Kong)
- David L. Chicoine (president, South Dakota State University)
- F. King Alexander (president and chancellor, Louisiana State University)